Keller, Freshman Duo Draw Hockey East Awards

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Boston College junior defenseman Megan Keller won her second straight Hockey East Best Defenseman Award on Wednesday, and a pair of BC freshmen – Delaney Belinskas and Caitrin Lonergan – were tabbed to the league's Pro Ambitions All-Rookie Team.

Keller was the league's unanimous choice for Best Defenseman, while Belinskas and Lonergan were both unanimous selections to the All-Rookie Team. The three players each earned all eight available votes from the conference's head coaches during awards voting.

The conference also announced several other awards today, including Best Defensive Forward (Northeastern's Hayley Scamurra), Sportsmanship Award (Providence's Cassidy Carels), ARMY ROTC Three Stars Award (New Hampshire's Jonna Curtis) and WHEA Scoring Champion (Boston University's Victoria Bach). BC senior captain Andie Anastos was the runner-up for both the Sportsmanship Award and the Three Stars Award.

The Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Coach of the Year, as well as the First, Second and honorable mention All-Star Teams, will be announced on Friday night at the annual Hockey East Tournament Banquet.

Keller anchored the league's top defense and the conference's top penalty-kill unit. BC's defense allowed just 1.58 goals per game, almost a full goal better than the next closest team. Additionally, its 95.7 percent penalty kill rate was second-best in league history. The BC defense posted a league-high four shutouts. Offensively, Keller finished sixth in the league in scoring with 27 points – and led the league in assist with 21 – in 20 games, missing four contests in late October and early November while helping the U.S. Women's National Team win the gold medal at the Four Nations Cup.

Already a two-time Hockey East All-Star First Team honoree and a 2016 first-team All-American, Keller is a Top 10 Finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award – which recognizes the national player of the year – for the second straight year.

Belinskas finished the conference season as the league's top scoring rookie with 26 points from 12 goals and 14 assists and was the only conference freshman to average more than 1.00 points per game with her 1.08 ppg mark. She tied for seventh on the points, goals and assists charts. Her three game-winning goals were tied for third in the league.

Lonergan was second among freshmen in scoring and was tied for 11th overall, tallying 23 points in 24 games. She scored 10 goals and added 13 assists. She was tied for eighth in power-play points (8), tied for sixth in game-winning goals (2) and eighth in shots (90). Also, her .601 faceoff winning percentage was fifth-best in the league and the second-highest among players with 100 or more faceoffs in league play.

This marks the fifth straight year a Boston College defender has won the Best Defenseman Award: Blake Bolden in 2013, Emily Pfalzer in 2014 and 2015 and Keller in 2016 and 2017.

Belinskas and Lonergan's placements on the All-Rookie Team mark the 16th and 17th All-Rookie honors under current head coach Katie Crowley. BC has played at least one Eagle on the All-Rookie Team every year since 2008-09, Crowley's second year behind the bench.

Sixth-ranked Boston College (25-5-5, 17-4-3 Hockey East) returns to the ice on Saturday, March 4 when the top-seeded Eagles face fifth-seeded Vermont in the Hockey East Tournament semifinals. Faceoff is set for 1:30 p.m. at Boston University's Walter Brown Arena. The winner of the BC-UVM semifinal will meet the winner of the BU-Northeastern semifinal at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 5, in the Hockey East Championship game at Walter Brown Arena.

Players Mentioned

Andie Anastos

Delaney Belinskas

Megan Keller

Caitrin Lonergan

Keller, Freshman Duo Draw Hockey East Awards

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